Joseph Richmond glanced up as his boss, the Honourable Margaret Fowey MP, shut the office door behind her with a bang loud enough to rattle the picture frame on the wall. Before he could enquire whether she had enjoyed a pleasant weekend, she slapped a memorandum down in front of him.
Straightening it, he slid it closer and read about the appointment of the new under-secretary of state in the Home Office. Though Joseph was a mere speech-writer and aide, Margaret valued his opinions and would be expecting a comment. He pursed his lips and looked up. “It’s a bad idea.”
“Precisely what I said.” She sat down heavily behind her desk. Her steel-grey hair wisped forward and she pushed it back with a sigh, her hands framing her face as she looked across the office. “I told the Prime Minister, I
